Inquiry Learning Key Questions: Treaty of Waitangi.
Scenario: The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840. Maori and Europeans started gathering for discussions on the morning of 5 February 1840. There were many arguments for and against the Treaty, and those continued on until the morning of 6 February. A few of the chiefs were in favour of the Treaty were Hone Heke and Tamati Waka Nene. Not all the chiefs gathered at Waitangi to sign the Treaty, so Captain Hobson had to travel around the country gathering other signatures. It took nearly seven months before the final signature was gathered. (This happened on 3 September 1840). More than 500 chiefs had signed the Treaty by then, although a number of important chiefs, including Chief Tareha, chose not to sign it. A few of these chiefs or iwi were: Chief Te Wherowhero of Waikato, chief Taraia Ngakuti te Tumuhuia of Thames/Coromandel, chief Hori Tupuaea of Tauranga, Te Arawa of Rotorua and Ngati Tuwharetoa of Taupo. When the Treaty was signed Hobson said, “He iwi tahi tatou” James Busby helped write and negotiate the Treaty. Some missionaries thought that the settlers were taking too much land from the Maori and were dismissed for voicing their views. One of these was Rev Henry Williams. Task: The students are to work in groups, each group inquiring into one “key player’, either Maori or English in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Students to find information about their background, role in the Treaty proceedings and attitude towards the signing. Students are to use a variety of resources including The dictionary of New Zealand Biography, websites, books, videos and CD’s. The students are to create a presentation of their information they had researched. They will need to create a model of their person, with requisite information. They are to add speech bubbles to their model, in which they identified and explained their person’s attitude towards the treaty both before and after the signing. Their completed presentation will incorporate the following elements – sight (visuals, images), sound (music, narration), and movement (animation, transitions etc.)
Focus Question: What is the Treaty of Waitangi
Open Questions:
1. What was Rev Henry Williams’ main role in the creation of the treaty? Because he was Lieutenant-Governor on behalf of the British Goverment.
2. Why was Captain William Hobson chosen to introduce the Treaty to the Maori and what did he promise them in return for signing it? They were promised Land property and rights.
3. Why did Hone Heke change his mind about signing the Treaty after he had signed it and what did he do to show his defiance? He felt like it was a scam so he cut the flagstaff to show his defiance.
4. What did Captain Hobson mean when he said “He iwi tahi tatou”? Captian Hobson mean't that their are no different kinds, because we are now one race.
5. What was the main purpose for creating the Treaty and how is it relevant today? The treaties main purpose was to settle peace and no harm against each other, plus more land. How it's relevant today? we would be speaking French if the treaty wasn't signed 171 years ago.
Not all the chiefs gathered at Waitangi to sign the Treaty, so Captain Hobson had to travel around the country gathering other signatures. It took nearly seven months before the final signature was gathered. (This happened on 3 September 1840). More than 500 chiefs had signed the Treaty by then, although a number of important chiefs, including Chief Tareha, chose not to sign it. A few of these chiefs or iwi were: Chief Te Wherowhero of Waikato, chief Taraia Ngakuti te Tumuhuia of Thames/Coromandel, chief Hori Tupuaea of Tauranga, Te Arawa of Rotorua and Ngati Tuwharetoa of Taupo. When the Treaty was signed Hobson said, “He iwi tahi tatou”
James Busby helped write and negotiate the Treaty. Some missionaries thought that the settlers were taking too much land from the Maori and were dismissed for voicing their views. One of these was Rev Henry Williams.
Task: The students are to work in groups, each group inquiring into one “key player’, either Maori or English in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Students to find information about their background, role in the Treaty proceedings and attitude towards the signing. Students are to use a variety of resources including The dictionary of New Zealand Biography, websites, books, videos and CD’s.
The students are to create a presentation of their information they had researched. They will need to create a model of their person, with requisite information. They are to add speech bubbles to their model, in which they identified and explained their person’s attitude towards the treaty both before and after the signing. Their completed presentation will incorporate the following elements – sight (visuals, images), sound (music, narration), and movement (animation, transitions etc.)